Jayaben Desai's guest appearances

Jayaben Desai

Great Lives

The New Elizabethans

Women Inspire

Michael Young

Alfred Hitchcock

Graham Greene

Althea Gibson

Roald Dahl

Alex Salmond

Harold Pinter

Hedy Lamarr

Germaine Greer

Cicely Saunders

Edmund Hillary

Toni Morrison

Sammy Davis Jr

Ben Miller

Oliver Sacks

OwlTail

"A person like me, I am never scared of anybody,”As a newly arrived refugee from East Africa, Jayaben Desai hoped for a new and better life, but instead she and her fellow workers found themselves humiliated and exploited. Burning with injustice, she knew things had to change…

"A person like me, I am never scared of anybody,”As a newly arrived refugee from East Africa, Jayaben Desai hoped for a new and better life, but instead she and her fellow workers found themselves humiliated and exploited. Burning with injustice, she knew things had to change…

Ayesha Hazarika

Stand up comedian and political commentator Ayesha Hazarika's hero is Jayaben Desai.Jayaben led a two year strike at Grunwick Film processing factory in North London. The majority of the workers were migrant women and they became known as the 'strikers in sarees'. Matthew Parris remembers the strike in 1976 as he was working in Margaret Thatcher's office at the time, but only recalls the violence at the picket line and the fact that the strike failed.Can Ayesha convince Matthew Parris that Jayaben Desai deserves the accolade of a great life?With Dr Sundari Anitha, co- author of 'Striking Women'.   Producer: Perminder KhatkarFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2018.

Stand up comedian and political commentator Ayesha Hazarika's hero is Jayaben Desai. Jayaben led a two year strike at Grunwick Film processing factory in North London. The majority of the workers were migrant women and they became known as the 'strikers in sarees'. Matthew Parris remembers the strike in 1976 as he was working in Margaret Thatcher's office at the time, but only recalls the violence at the picket line and the fact that the strike failed. Can Ayesha convince Matthew Parris that Jayaben Desai deserves the accolade of a great life? With Dr Sundari Anitha, co- author of 'Striking Women'. Producer: Perminder Khatkar First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2018.

Ayesha Hazarika on Jayaben Desai

Jayaben Desai, defied stereotyping all her life. "A person like me, I am never scared of anybody," she told managers at the Grunwick film processing plant in Willesden, London shortly before she led a walkout in August 1976. Desai and her co workers were dubbed "strikers in saris" by the media but she went on to lead a campaign which eventually led to a respect for immigrant workers and a recognition of the very long hours and low wages they were prepared to tolerate.The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."Producer: Sarah Taylor.

Jayaben Desai, defied stereotyping all her life. "A person like me, I am never scared of anybody," she told managers at the Grunwick film processing plant in Willesden, London shortly before she led a walkout in August 1976. Desai and her co workers were dubbed "strikers in saris" by the media but she went on to lead a campaign which eventually led to a respect for immigrant workers and a recognition of the very long hours and low wages they were prepared to tolerate. The New Elizabethans have been chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House. The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings. They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse." Producer: Sarah Taylor.